"In Pine Hills, Ohio, the bars are hopping—and bodies are dropping—as bookstore-café owner Krissy Hancock gets drawn into a deadly St. Patrick's Day mystery . . .
Krissy is ready to provide one of the essential ingredients for Irish coffee this St. Patrick's Day—though without a liquor license, she'll have to team up with a local bar owner to complete the recipe. It's a perfect chance to distract herself from her upcoming wedding . . . and her worries about how her beloved cat will get along with his new canine stepsiblings.
As she doles out some much-needed caffeine the day after the festivities, she learns that the town is dealing with something worse than a hangover: homicide. Like many a reveler before him, the bar owner ended up green around the gills, but after he passed out, he never woke up. Now, between brewing, bookselling, and house-hunting, Krissy is reviewing a whole parade of suspects . . ."
"Krissy Hancock is a little nervous leaving her bookstore-café in Pine Hills, Ohio, in someone else's hands while she visits family in California. But when a killer strikes during her week out west, it's a good thing she packed her sleuthing skills . . .
When she arrives in her hometown, the owner of Death by Coffee is startled to see a store called Death by Java. She soon realizes the name belongs to a copycat business run by her mean-girl high school rival, Valerie. It may not be grounds for a lawsuit—but when they stop in and witness a bitter argument with a health inspector, the whole scene leaves a bad taste in Krissy's mouth. Valerie has even imitated Death by Coffee's resident feline—except this one is a hissing stray who's more likely to terrorize customers than delight them.
Despite her irritation, Krissy finds herself trying to help the hapless Valerie. But her old classmate needs a different kind of help when the health inspector is found dead on the premises. As Krissy's boyfriend cozies up to local law enforcement, she collects a carafe of clues, drip by drip . . ."
"Up-and-comer Ashley Branson usually aims to keep both feet placed firmly on the ground—unless she's instructing a class at her trendy cat yoga studio. But she soon finds herself caught in a downward spiral when a stretch beyond her comfort zone leads to murder . . .
Ashley Branson is sure of one thing after experiencing a disastrous blind date—she would much rather enjoy the single life and hang out with playful felines at her studio, A Purrfect Pose, than ever compromise her inner peace like that again. When the mysterious guy makes a late arrival then has the nerve to dine and dash, it's embarrassing. But when he winds up dead in his apartment that same night? Ash suddenly finds herself thrust into a twisted murder investigation and questioning if she might be shaping up to be the suspect . . . or the next victim.
Ash races to claw through a web of lies, hidden identities, and love lives even more complicated than her own to uncover the truth. Adding to the chaos, she believes her shifty neighbor—covered in unexplained injuries and rumored to harbor a crush on her—could be connected to the crime. Now, with more leads than she needs, Ash must take a deep breath, pull on her big-girl leggings, and move faster than the cunning killer who wants to put her in corpse pose for good . . ."
"When Pine Hills, Ohio, hosts an inter-town murder mystery game, bookstore-café owner and sometimes-sleuth Krissy Hancock assumes it'll all be in good fun, but that's before the competition claims its first real-life victim . . .
The unique weekend-long event—a combination of a live-action role playing game and a theatrical production—draws competitors from all the neighboring towns, including Pine Hills' own Krissy and Rita. Although the actors, clues, and performances are spread across the community, somehow Krissy's team lands at the one location with an actual body . . .
Police immediately call-off the competition while they conduct a real murder investigation, but soon it's clear some folks are playing by their own set of rules. So it's up to Krissy and her pals to shuffle through the suspects and draw out the real killer before another player takes their final turn."
"Sure to appeal to fans of Miranda James, Cate Conte, Eileen Watkins, Laurien Berenson, and all lovers of cozy mysteries featuring animal companions!
Finding this killer will be a real stretch . . .
Ashley Branson has a lot to prove with her new cat yoga studio, A Purrfect Pose. It's a place for humans to find inner wellness—and adopt adorable cats from the local shelter. It's also a chance for Ash to run her own life, out from under her overbearing mother and a stifling relationship. So far, so successful. Until she discovers one of her new clients, a much-disliked college professor, dead in her studio, locked in child's pose . . .
To make matters worse, Ash's hapless always-in-trouble brother, Hunter, instantly becomes the cops' prime suspect. Determined to clear his name and save her business, Ash does a deep lunge into the surprising—and strange—connections the victim had with her other clients. But countless suspects, contradictory leads, not to mention people desperate to see her studio shut down, mean Ash will have to stretch to the max to outthink a clever killer who's ready to strike her red in tooth and claw . . ."
"A smart, well-crafted mystery set in a charming small-town Ohio, where bookstore-cafe owner Krissy Hancock has a sideline in sleuthing—just right for fans of Leslie Meier, Cleo Coyle, and Carolyn Hart.
Christmas has come to Pine Hills, and Krissy's blooming relationship with Officer Paul Dalton has her in an especially festive mood. The café's new seasonal signature drink is a hit too. But not everyone shares the same holiday spirit. There are some loud complaints about businesses profiting off the season and losing focus on what Christmas is really about. And as if on cue, a shop owner who'd been price-gouging his customers is found dead after receiving a mysterious gift . . .
Krissy doesn't want to let the troubling events put a damper on the holiday, especially with her father and his girlfriend in town. But when other shop owners are targeted, she has no choice. She needs to wrap up this case quickly before one of her friends—or even Krissy herself—ends up on a Grinchy killer's deadly gift list . . ."
"A smart, well-crafted mystery set in a charming Midwestern small town, where bookstore-cafe owner Krissy Hancock has a sideline in sleuthing—just right for fans of Leslie Meier, Cleo Coyle, and Carolyn Hart.
Bookstore-café owner Krissy Hancock is stepping out from behind the counter to take part in the first annual Pine Hills, Ohio, marathon. But with a killer close by, she may soon be running for her life . . .
It's a brutally hot day in Pine Hills, and Krissy Hancock would love to be sitting in a shady spot and sipping her favorite iced coffee. Instead, she's lacing up her sneakers for a marathon—and swiftly regretting it. Especially when she finds one of the other runners lying motionless. At first Krissy suspects heatstroke, but the red marks around the man's throat tell a more sinister story.
The victim, it turns out, had brewed up all kinds of enemies thanks to his cheating ways—both romantic and financial. Krissy's not keen to get involved, but her friend Rita's boyfriend, Johan, seems to be mixed up in the mayhem. For Rita's sake, Krissy wants to help filter out the real killer. But can she do it before another Pine Hills resident gets permanently iced?"
"This time the stakes are higher than ever, as bookstore owner Krissy Hancock becomes the target of escalating attacks. Smart and masterfully plotted, will appeal to fans of Leslie Meier and Cleo Coyle.
Since Krissy Hancock opened her bookstore-café in the charming small town of Pine Hills, Ohio, she's discovered that murders don't just happen between the pages. This time, she's both suspect and target . . .
In a small town like Pine Hills, reputation counts for a lot. And for reasons that Krissy Hancock can't figure out, someone is trashing hers. Cockroaches in the bookstore's coffee, spiteful reviews, vandalism—Krissy is being framed for every bit of bad news around. Her boyfriend, local cop Paul Dalton, is on the case, but before they can source the saboteur, Krissy is in the frame for murder, too.
The murder weapon was a teapot full of Krissy's favorite spiced chai, and all the local gossips are spilling the tea about her supposed involvement. But the real culprit has a grudge that's been simmering for years. And unless Krissy can uncover the truth before the killer's rage boils over again, it won't just be her business in hot water—her life will be on the line too . . ."
"Krissy Hancock's bookstore-café in Pine Hills, Ohio, is teaming up with the local library for a seasonal celebration, but someone is spiking the refreshments—with fatal results . . .
With autumn in full swing and Thanksgiving on the way, Krissy's supplying cider and her staff is manning the apple-bobbing booth at a town event. But then a patron dunks his head in—and doesn't come back up.
It soon becomes clear that Krissy's brew wasn't to blame. But with her policeman boyfriend looking to make detective, she can't help being drawn into the investigation. The victim was notorious for harassing not only her own bookstore but the library and the school for promoting supposedly scandalous literature—before someone censored him permanently. Now, Krissy will have to check out a stack of suspects to find a killer who's rotten to the core . . ."
"A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed."
"Krissy Hancock runs a bookstore-café in Pine Hills, Ohio, but she'll be setting up shop as a sleuth when she discovers a long-unsolved murder . . .
Krissy's helping a friend clean out her late mother's house when she learns that although the deceased died peacefully at an advanced age, her brother did not. In fact, Wade was killed more than thirty years ago, and the case was never closed. What surprises Krissy even more is that she has a personal connection to the story—her friend Rita was seeing Wade at the time, scandalizing the town with the couple's large age difference.
With an older Rita now part of Krissy's writing group—and another member with police experience—she starts digging up gossip, talking to the victim's local coffee klatsch, and trying to find real clues amid the old rumors. But things just seem to grow muddier as she fights to identify whodunit . . ."
"'CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER' by Carlene O'Connor
Siobhán O'Sullivan's hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she's pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics—or worse—that led to his death by chocolate?
'CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE' by Maddie Day
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan's country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie's hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .
'DEATH BY HOT COCOA' by Alex Erickson
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed."
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